A Taste
by Lover's Reason
Summary: JoBe, but without any real romance. This is for all those bite-fetish people out there. Rated for safety.


Sort of Josef/Beth, but lacking any real romance. This is for all those bite-fetish people out there.

And to BiteMarks: this is it. I just changed the circumstances to avoid infringement.

Oh, and I know Josef is OOC, but there are some situations that would never happen if one was in character.

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"_There's not some kind of club where we all hang out."_

Mick's words rang in Beth's ears as she looked around the room at all the people that she knew were vampires. Well, vampires might not have clubs, but they sure could throw a party. And what was she doing here? With Mick in Europe, no less. The answer was complicated, but it boiled down simply to: Josef.

Mick had asked Josef to check up on her from time to time while he was running around with Coraline, Lance, and numerous other horrors. She had jumped upon the opportunity to find out more about the world of vampires. While Mick shunned that world, Josef ran it, and he had always been more candid with her anyway.

But after several days of incessant questions, Josef finally invited her to a vampire get-together. More out of frustration than anything else. Or at least, that's what Beth told herself as she tried to block out the one-sided smile he had smiled when he invited her.

He met her at her door, appraising her choice of a black satin gown and modest pearl necklace. She was beautiful, but then, he had known plenty of beautiful women. It was her gall that impressed him, walking into a den of vampires with no one but him to protect her. Or did she really trust him that much? He really hoped not.

They drove most of the way in silence, and Josef hoped Beth's lack of chatter meant she was afraid. He paused at the thought. Well, maybe she shouldn't be that afraid. He pulled up to the building and stopped.

"Look, you're a smart woman." Beth started. What a way to start a conversation. "Even with your obvious human shortcomings, it won't take you long to figure out that all the humans at this party are freshies. It's a BYOB sort of arrangement. And then, in your human way, you'll jump to the conclusion that I brought you here to feed on you. So I'm telling you now that I didn't, save you all that worrying, aren't I thoughtful?" Beth blinked. She wasn't really sure what to say.

They got out of the car and got on an elevator for the roof. As soon as the door opened, Beth was bombarded with people who wanted to greet Josef, compliment his date, thank him for some business arrangement or another. Beth got a little dizzy with the introductions, and at the first possible moment, she excused herself for the restroom. But since she had only been at the party for ten minutes, she just stood in there for a minute and walked right back out again.

In the minute that Beth had been in the restroom, Josef had already been lost in the crowd. Wandering the roof looking for him, Beth was intercepted by a large man who grabbed her wrist.

"AO positive?" he asked, sniffing her.

"I- I'm sorry," she stammered, trying to pull away. "I don't…" Then Josef was between them, his hand on the other vampire's wrist, forcing him to let go.

"Excuse me, Mr. Lawrence. She belongs to me."

The vampire called Lawrence retreated noticeably from Josef. "Of course. My apologies, Mr. Kostan."

Josef turned to Beth and wrapped an arm around her waist, leading her away. She was surprised at his casual touch, and wondered if it was just for show. "For future reference," he said, "any mention of my name will get most of these vamps off of you. Or, you could always go join the human side of the party."

As he pointed it out, Beth realized that there was a noticeable divide amongst the party goers. There was a table of human food laid out, and around it a gaggle of people lacking the bearing of vampires. Also lacking the sobriety. As Beth walked over to this section, it became more like the parties she was used to. Unfortunately, not the ones she enjoyed. Looking around at the humans, she saw that many had scars on their wrists and necks. Some even had more horrific ones, on their arms and faces. Mingling with vampires was a dangerous thing.

With the realization that she had as little in common with these people as with the vampires, she took a seat. After all, she was here to observe, not to party. Within a few minutes, however, a stunning brunette came and sat next to her.

"Pardon. You are here with Josef Kostan?" she asked politely with a thick French accent.

"Yes," she said, worried where this was leading. The woman was human; she wore long dangling earrings that were clearly meant to draw attention to the scars on her neck. But she only smiled kindly.

"You are very lucky," she said softly.

"Oh?" Beth managed to stutter out.

"Yes. I've been a freshie for many years now, and the experience with Mr. Kostan is incomparable to any other. I noticed you have no scars?"

"Yes," Beth stuttered again. Then, deciding to make the best of the situation by learning what she could about this aspect of Josef's life, she said, "This is my first time. I'm kind of nervous, in case you couldn't tell."

"That is normal. Trust me, there is no one better to start with than Mr. Kostan. He makes it easy, and pleasurable in a way that is very rare."

"Pleasurable, really? I just heard he tips really well."

"Well, of course, there is the money. But no, more than that. His intention is that you should enjoy yourself, which makes him very different from most of those that I've fed. I say that you are lucky because he always picks so few women. Those that he wants would never choose to leave his service, and he never kills." As she rose from her spot, she said, "I hope you enjoy your time with him. The chance to be had by Josef Kostan is one many would die for."

After she left, Beth sat in amazement. Being fed upon, pleasurable? She had done it once, and no positive emotion had come out of it other than the joy that Mick was still alive. It had been frightening and painful, not the least bit enjoyable. But on the other hand, Mick had been dying, desperate, and reluctant to say the least. She would be lying if she said she had never imagined how intimate that encounter might have been if the circumstances had been different.

Shaking that thought out of her head, Beth rose to walk over to the poker game Josef was playing with some other vampires. She was here to learn about them, and she was never going to do that on the freshie side. Pretending to enjoy the view over the rail and concealed by a tree, she listened to their conversation.

"Are you enjoying your dinner, Mr. Lawrence?" That was Josef, his voice was unmistakable.

"I am, indeed, Mr. Kostan." There was a pause, and the conversation became quieter, more private. "Mr. Kostan, I haven't seen you eat anything yourself," said that deep voice with obviously false concern. "You must be famished. Where is that lovely blonde you stole from under my nose earlier?" The hostility was barely concealed.

"I'm sorry, I don't like to eat in public," said Josef stiffly.

"Are you sure? I've seen you do so before. You know, Mr. Kostan, I don't believe you intend to feed on that girl. A vampire rarely gets so defensive of a midnight snack. You haven't by any chance brought an outsider to our gathering?"

Beth wasn't an idiot; she could see that Josef was in trouble. Feeling obliged to help him, she began digging through her purse for the tiny sewing kit she always kept. After she found what she needed, she walked around to the poker game. All five players stopped everything at the smell of blood.

Beth walked straight to Josef without looking at any of the others. She sat delicately in his lap and offered him a pricked finger. When she touched it to his lip, he didn't hesitate.

"I thought I'd bring you a taster," she said in her 'escort voice' as he sucked on her finger, "since we have to wait until we're alone." With her back to the other vampires, her expression clearly said 'play along'. Then she kissed him in a way that silently exclaimed, "We're sleeping together!" After they finished, she got up to leave, but not before catching a look of utter shock on Josef's face. The look was impossibly fleeting, however, and by the time she was all the way up he had regained his usual confident smirk.

"As you can see, this one satisfies more than one of my cravings. You'll forgive me if I don't indulge in public." All were stunned into silence.

~*~

Later that night, when Josef was ready to leave, she was more than willing. As they drove back, she thought over what the beautiful French girl had said about Josef, how he had kissed her, how it felt to have him taste her. Looking around, she realized they were not headed to her home, but to his.

"If you'll excuse me," he said, "I haven't eaten anything all night, and my home isn't far at all. As soon as I grab a bite I'll take you home."

"Of course." Beth didn't begrudge him this, after all, he had elected to bring her instead of dinner. There was an awkward pause.

"I should thank you for getting me out of trouble. That move with the finger was brilliant."

She smiled. "Just returning the favor," she said sincerely.

When they got to his home, he invited her upstairs to his study. She watched as he pulled out a bag of blood and poured himself a drink.

"I thought you didn't drink that stuff," she said.

"Yes, well, I would normally prefer freshies, but there are none here at the moment."

"You mean you don't have any living with you?"

He cocked his head to the side. "No. They all have lives of their own. They just feed me to pick up an extra buck."

"That's not what I hear," she muttered very softly as he turned to walk out. Josef stopped and turned back to her.

"What did you say?" he asked, quite calmly. Some of the danger had come back to his mannerisms as he approached her.

"I-I was just saying, I mean, I talked to a girl at the party. She said that with you it's not just the money. Girls enjoy feeding you. It's pleasurable." Their closeness was doing strange things to her thoughts. She wasn't able to concentrate when he was backing her up to a wall.

"Hm, yes. I've always found that happy freshies are more likely to come back, which limits the number of people who know my secret. As with most of my actions, it's rooted in paranoia."

"I just didn't realize it was possible. I mean, when it happened to me, the dominant feeling there was ow."

"Mick was dying. He was angry with himself for needing you. And, if you'll forgive the hubris, Mick hasn't had four hundred years to perfect the art of pleasing human women." At this point, Beth had finally run up against the wall, and she was really starting to get butterflies. She leaned her head back, knowing what should come next.

"Beth." The sharpness of his voice made her stop and look at him. "Don't think my invitation means you have any sort of obligation to me whatsoever. You aren't a freshie. This is entirely discretionary." He leaned down to her neck and inhaled deeply. "I won't kill you or turn you. I just want a taste."

"As if I'd let us get into this position if I didn't want it."

"Good point," he said, smiling. "Mmm, Mick is going to kill me," he said, dragging blunt teeth across her throat. "Much as he hated that day, he loves knowing he's the only one who's ever tasted you."

"Oh. Did- did he ever talk about that day to you?"

"Briefly, yes," he replied as he cupped her face and then gently ran the hand over the curve of her neck and shoulder and down her arm.

"What did he say?" she asked, barely able to keep her voice steady with his eyes staring into hers.

"That you were exquisite," he whispered as his eyes turned ghostly white.

The moment Josef bit down, Beth understood how he was different. Everything the French girl had said was true; he acted like a gourmet savoring the most expensive of wines. He barely even punctured her skin before pulling out his fangs; he would leave only the shallowest of marks. Thus her blood, instead of gushing, welled slowly at her neck for him to lick sensuously, fully enjoying every drop. He kissed her throat, shoulder, and jaw at intervals, always returning to the wound. After some minutes, the bleeding began to slow, and he moved to kiss her mouth as well. Although Beth had never planned this part, she kissed back with fervor, the beautiful maiden under the thrall of the legendary vampire.

As he moved back to her throat, she arched her whole body toward him. "Bite me, Josef," she whispered.

Always happy to oblige, Josef cradled her neck in one hand while his teeth sank deep into the flawless skin on the other side. There was pain, but it faded quickly. Contrary to the feeding frenzy Beth had expected, Josef seemed to have the startling ability to concentrate on other things besides the blood. Things like the black satin at her waist, the curls at the base of her skull. His hands were everywhere, and yet nowhere she wanted them, avoiding her forbidden places.

She reached to the hand on her hip and pulled it upward to cup her breast, but as soon as she let go he took his hand away to reach around her back. She moaned softly as he pulled her close to himself. The last thing Beth remembered was a desire that had nothing to do with feeding. Then she blacked out.

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How did you like it? Please let me know!


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